The only athletes that never risk injury are the ones that never perform well enough to win anything.

Let me translate that.

The really good horses are always at risk of injury because they try hard.

Mediocre horses never get injured.

Why? Because mediocre horses seldom put out much effort.

HERE’S WHAT CAUSES THE LEG INJURIES

Let me explain what CAUSES these kind of ligament and tendon injuries.

In most cases, injury is caused by the horse’s fetlock joint HYPER-EXTENDING (dropping down too low).

This hyper-extension taxes the ligaments and tendons beyond their capacity.

Next thing you know, the ligament or tendon is either badly strained or actually torn.

Either way, it’s bad news.

Larry Trocha aboard Rain Badger. This horse is stopping and turning so hard that his hocks (and the rider's foot) are almost touching the ground.

What causes the fetlock to hyper-extend?

It’s usually caused by the horse exerting a lot of effort while performing… a reining horse doing a hard stop or fast spin, a cutting horse holding a tough cow or a barrel horse making a sharp turn around a barrel at high speed.

All these activities (or others like them) can cause the fetlock to hyper-extend and result in an injury.

Also, asking a horse to perform when he’s exhausted or fatigued will greatly increase the chance of injury.

PREVENTING THE INJURIES

In the past, I tried to prevent ligament and tendon problems by “wrapping” my horse’s legs.

Especially, if I was going to be doing stops or spins.

I’d use top quality polo wraps and I’d apply them with a special “wrapping pattern” that helped prevent the fetlock from dropping too much.

In my DVD, Teach Your Horse to Rollback and Spin, I demonstrate how I wrap a horse’s legs like this.

Unfortunately, there are two big problems related to wrapping.

#1. Unless you apply the wrapping pattern EXACTLY the way I demonstrate, the wraps really aren’t going to do much good.

#2. What’s even worse, if the wraps aren’t applied with smooth, over-lapping, even pressure, they will cause the horse to BANDAGE BOW.

That’s right.

Wrap your horse’s legs WRONG and you can bow his tendons just from applying the wraps!

Makes most people shy away from even attempting it.

SIDE NOTE:

If you go to the big money shows, you’ll see a lot of the horses being ridden with their legs wrapped.

The trainers do this in hopes of preventing injury.

In reality, 80% of those horses are wrapped in a way that’s not going to prevent anything.

They are applying the polo wraps by simply going around and around the leg… a simple compression bandage.

If you’re going to do any good, you have to apply the wraps in a way that LIFTS UP on the fetlock and prevents it from dropping too far.

Few people understand how to do this.

I was fortunate to learn it many years ago from a race horse trainer who owned cutting horses as a hobby.

By the way, I wouldn’t trust wrapping instructions from anybody except an unquestionable expert.

Many of the people posting “wrapping” videos on websites like youtube or expert village, probably aren’t that expert. (Strictly my opinion).

I should also point out that polo wraps have their limitations.

While they can help a horse to a certain degree, they are by no means an ideal solution.

POPULAR NAME-BRAND SPLINT & SUPPORT BOOTS… REAL HELP OR FALSE SECURITY?

As an alternative to wrapping, most folks will use splint or support boots.

You know… those real popular ones which CLAIM to support the fetlock and keep it from hyper-extending.

I’ve checked them out and I have to tell you… I seriously have my doubts.

You don’t need to be a structural engineer to see their short-comings.

I actually know one of the vets who was on the research and development team for these boots.

The vet told me, tests showed those boots help the horse’s ligaments and tendons about 10%.

Ten percent!

Personally, I suspect that’s not enough. Not enough to do much practical good in the real world of show competition.

SIDE NOTE:

What these boots do well is… they greatly reduce the concussion of a blow to the leg.

If you have a horse who bangs his legs together or strikes his leg with the opposite hoof, these boots offer good protection.

That’s as far as they go, though.

A NEW KIND OF SUPPORT BOOT INTRODUCED… THERE MAY BE HOPE!

I was at a big show a while back when a guy walked up to me and introduced himself.

He said he had a new type of support boot that greatly reduces the chance of injury to ligaments and tendons.

He told me the name of the company but I’d never heard of them.

In my usual not-so-tactful way, I gave him a look of doubt.

He wasn’t deterred though.

He said, “if I give you a set of these boots, will you give them an honest try”?

I replied, “maybe, if they look like they have a chance of working”.

Long story short, those boots DID look like they might work so I tried them on a bunch of my horses.

Right now, at this point in time… I’m pretty darn convinced they are the best support boots I’ve ever tried.

Earlier in this email, I mentioned I know the vet that helped research and test those “name-brand” splint boots.

Well, I showed these new support boots to that vet.

The vets reaction… “Those are the best designed boots I’ve ever seen. Where can I get them”?

Now, just so there are NO misunderstandings…

I’m NOT saying these boots will eliminate ALL leg injuries.

I doubt any boot will ever be able to do that.

What I AM saying is these boots have a better CHANCE of doing some GOOD than any other boot I’ve tried.

And I’m not the only one who feels this way.

Mike Tomlinson DVM MBA, veterinarian to the United States Equestrian Team, whole heartedly recommends this boot.

Comments

Last year my 17.2 TB tore his distal sesamoid ligament.During his layup time I researched the Iconoclast boots and decided to try them. I was so happy with the support they provided that I ordered another pair. I found them easy to put on and so far they are holding up well Would recommend them for sure.